Wildlife Vets Namibia

Wildlife Vets Namibia We offer wildlife veterinary services and specialize in long-distance game translocations in Africa. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Wildlife Vets Namibia is the company of wildlife veterinarian Ulf Tubbesing. Our team has got many years of experience in the wildlife industry, and work with all sorts of wildlife species; from antelopes to rhinos and elephants to carnivores. We can you offer a wide variety of wildlife veterinary services, e.g. dart immobilization, (dart) vaccination, treating sick and injured animals, preventati

ve medicine, post mortem research, etc. Besides our veterinary work, we can help you with all sorts of game translocations, within Namibia or abroad. We have specialized wildlife trailers and containers, and since 2020 also our own elephant transport crates. Lastly, we can assist you in all your questions concerning game- and veld management. For more information please visit our website: www.wildlifevetsnamibia.com.

27/11/2025

🦒 Long necks on the move! 🦒

Last month we relocated 6 giraffes to the Erongo Mountain Nature Conservancy, thanks to the generous donation by Osino Gold Exploration. This important contribution will help strengthen and grow the giraffe population in the area.

When we move giraffes, we usually focus on subadults and young adults, but this time we had the full spectrum; from big cows, to bigger bulls and a juvenile! Giraffe capture is always exciting and challenging, but this one tested our skills for sure! But seeing them safely released in their new home always makes everything worth it!

A huge thanks to everyone who helped during the capture, the Osino Gold Exploration and Mining team did a brilliant job, especially since it was their first time catching giraffes! A big thanks also to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation for joining us in the field and tagging these giraffes. Thanks to the GPS ear tags, all six giraffes are now well monitored. And a special shout-out to pilot Jockel from Du Preez Wild for safely guiding the giraffes into the open plains!

We hope you enjoy the video!

Esta é a nossa terceira newsletter angolana, feita especialmente para os produtores angolanos de vida selvagem! Nesta ed...
26/11/2025

Esta é a nossa terceira newsletter angolana, feita especialmente para os produtores angolanos de vida selvagem! Nesta edição:

🐘👣 Descubra factos interessantes sobre as patas dos elefantes. Sabia que eles conseguem andar quase silenciosamente?
🐘🚛 Explicamos como funciona a translocação de elefantes.
🌳☣️ Leia um resumo do nosso artigo sobre a toxicidade do tanino.
👋🙋‍♂️ Por fim, para aqueles que ainda não nos conhecem, incluímos uma breve apresentação da nossa equipa!

Sinta-se à vontade para partilhar esta newsletter. Também pode encontrá-la no nosso site. Esperamos que goste da newsletter! 👉 https://wildlifevetsnamibia.com/documentation/newsletters

Não hesite em contactar-nos, teremos todo o prazer em ajudá-lo.

Mariska
📞 +264 (0)81 382 8473
📧 [email protected]
🌐 www.wildlifevetsnamibia.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE25 November 2025 – Samarkand, UzbekistanNamibia’s Rhino Custodians Urge Evidence-Based Decisions at...
25/11/2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
25 November 2025 – Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Namibia’s Rhino Custodians Urge Evidence-Based Decisions at COP20: Traceability Is No Longer a Valid Objection to Proposal 9

HoRN.nam — representing Namibia’s private rhino owners and custodians — is calling on CITES COP20 delegates to base decisions on current science and enforcement capability following the Secretariat’s recommendation to reject Namibia’s Proposal 9 on traceability grounds.

“The fear that rhino horn cannot be securely tracked is understandable — but it no longer reflects today’s reality. The systems exist, they work, and they are already protecting rhinos.”

Traceability Technology Already Working in Southern Africa

Southern Africa operates the world’s most advanced wildlife forensic tracking system:

RhODIS®️ – DNA Identification
• Developed by the University of Pretoria’s Veterinary Genetics Laboratory
• Over 40,000 rhino DNA profiles stored
• Used routinely in poaching investigations, law enforcement and court prosecutions
• Enabled convictions in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and Kenya

In more than 120 successful criminal investigations, RhODIS®️ has matched seized horns to individual rhinos and specific reserves — proving cross-border traceability

(see examples: https://oxpeckers.org/2014/09/dna-leads-in-rhino-prosecutions/
• https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/jan/08/rhinoceros-dna-database-successful-in-aiding-poaching-prosecutions
• https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/rhino-dna-database-helps-officials-nab-poachers-and-traffickers/).

If a horn does not match its DNA profile and permit, it cannot enter the legal market.

Regulation Makes Laundering Harder — Not Easier

Proposal 9 strengthens enforcement by:
• Requiring DNA sampling, microchipping and full documentation
• Maintaining an unbroken chain of custody
• Allowing independent auditing and CITES verification
• Providing a transparent, inspectable supply chain

Illegality creates invisibility. Legality creates accountability.

Why Proposal 9 Supports Conservation

A regulated, verifiable trade:
• Exposes illegal horns immediately
• Increases the risk and cost of trafficking
• Funds security, veterinary care and rhino protection
• Rewards custodians who keep rhinos alive — not criminals who kill them

“At present, only poachers profit from rhino horn. Proposal 9 changes that.”

Namibia Is Ready to Implement

Proposal 9 applies only to horns from live, documented dehorning with complete DNA records, sourced from monitored rhino populations and managed under strict national and CITES oversight.

This is not theoretical. It is operational, proven and enforceable today.

HoRN.nam Statement

Namibia’s private rhino custodians fully support all three proposals submitted by the Government of the Republic of Namibia at COP20 in Uzbekistan. We stand united behind our delegation and are ready to implement these measures with transparency, scientific integrity and the highest conservation standards.

Elephants use their massive ears for hearing, communication and thermoregulation. Flapping their ears creates a breeze, ...
25/11/2025

Elephants use their massive ears for hearing, communication and thermoregulation. Flapping their ears creates a breeze, and warm blood flowing through the ear vessels cools down before returning to the body.

You know what else these big ears are useful for...? As a notebook! When we immobilize and move elephants, we note down important info, such as drug dosages, on their ears. When there are multiple elephants down and being loaded onto flatbed trucks, it is crucial to keep track.

By the time the elephant reaches the wake-up crate, the person that wakes the elephants up can check all the drugs that were given, thanks to the 'notebook' on the ear! Based on this info, the right amount of antidote can be given.

This elephant was relocated with his herd as part of a habitat conservation effort, to relief pressure of the area they were in. A huge thanks to Brian Leite - bfl_photography for this awesome photo!

Dr Ulf is one of the Top-10 finalists of the Worldwide Vets Golden Star Award!! Being nominated was already a huge honou...
24/11/2025

Dr Ulf is one of the Top-10 finalists of the Worldwide Vets Golden Star Award!! Being nominated was already a huge honour, but to be in the finals is truly special! We hope you will vote one more time for Ulf!

Voting is open from 14 Nov - 01 Dec, on 05 December the winner will be announced. Should Ulf win, £500 will go to our own chosen charity, which will be the Rhino Momma Project 🦏💚

Let’s bring the Golden Star Award to Namibia this year! Thank you so much in advance!

👉🏻 https://www.worldwide-vets.org/goldenstaraward

The Directorate of Veterinary Services has issued a public notice confirming rabies in the Cape Fur Seal population near...
24/11/2025

The Directorate of Veterinary Services has issued a public notice confirming rabies in the Cape Fur Seal population near Walvis Bay. The first case was reported on 16 June at the Walvis Bay Lagoon, and now three more cases have been confirmed at Pelican Point.

Thanks Ocean Conservation Namibia for this clear and informative overview!

A huge thanks to the Veterinary Association of Namibia for an excellent congress! Over four days, a wide range of intere...
23/11/2025

A huge thanks to the Veterinary Association of Namibia for an excellent congress! Over four days, a wide range of interesting topics on small animals, large animals and wildlife were presented by expert lecturers. It was great to see that so many colleagues could attend. We learned lots and truly enjoyed it! A huge thanks also to Arebbusch Travel Lodge and all the sponsors, and a special thanks goes out to Swavet Animal Health for the fun spinning wheel activity 😉 We are already looking forward to next year!

Erik Verreynne

🎉 Happy Birthday Gabi! 🎉 Since joining us in 2022, Gabi has become absolutely indispensable. She is the one who keeps ou...
22/11/2025

🎉 Happy Birthday Gabi! 🎉

Since joining us in 2022, Gabi has become absolutely indispensable. She is the one who keeps our numbers in line!

When Gabi is not busy with finances, she is often elbow-deep in organic matter! Gabi is the proud owner of Green Planet Gardening. Her Red Wiggler Worms work overtime to turn kitchen scraps into garden gold, creating Namibia’s finest vermicompost! Check out the awesome work she does here: https://greenplanet-gardening.com/

Gabi, we hope you have a quiet day of no paperwork piles and long-overdue receipts; just worms, cake and lots of love and laughter! Thank you for everything you do for us!

21/11/2025

Gondwana Collection Namibia reveals the latest animal fashion trends 😂🇳🇦💪🏼

20/11/2025

Darting is on of the safest ways to administer immobilization drugs to an animal. But sometimes people forget that a dart gun is not the same as a rifle, and a dart is certainly not the same as a bullet! The flight of a dart is much slower and not straight like a bullet. Because the dart is slow and relatively big, it is very susceptible for winds. In the video you can see that the trajectory of the dart is like a bow.

When darting an animal, factors such as distance, angle, wind speed and animal movement all need to be taken into consideration.

You can read more about this topic in our September 2024 newsletter: https://wildlifevetsnamibia.com/documentation/newsletters

Pneu-Dart Inc.

Earlier this month we presented our Animal Crime Scene and Evidence handling Course twice at the N/a’an ku sê Foundation...
18/11/2025

Earlier this month we presented our Animal Crime Scene and Evidence handling Course twice at the N/a’an ku sê Foundation, where we trained several APU teams from various reserves. Why do we give this course? Because errors in crime scene processing and poor evidence handling are among the leading reasons animal crimes (e.g. poaching and stock theft) have poor arrest- and conviction rates. The better we all become in crime scene securing and handling, the better the chances are that the culprits are being caught and convicted!

During the course, we discussed all aspects of (animal) crime scene processing. From the role of DNA and forensic evidence, to taking court-admissible photographs, securing scenes and evidence effectively, and presenting yourself confidently in court. The course is a mix of lectures and practical training. On the final day, everything came together as we set up a fake crime scene. The whole process was practiced; from securing the area, collecting and documenting evidence, to handing it over to the police. We were honoured to have officers from the Seeis police join us, sharing their expertise and offering valuable tips throughout the course.

Would you be interested in this course as well? Have a look at our website for more information: https://wildlifevetsnamibia.com/consultancy. If we have enough people interested, we are more than happy to present the course in your area.

Address

P. O. Box 50533
Windhoek
9000

Telephone

+264811280350

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Wildlife Vets Namibia is the company of wildlife veterinarian Ulf Tubbesing. Our team has got many years of experience in the wildlife field, and work with all sorts of wildlife species, from antelope to rhinos and elephants, to carnivores. We can offer you a wide variety of wildlife veterinary services, e.g. dart immobilization, (dart) vaccination, treating sick and injured animals, preventative medicine, post mortem research etc. We can assist you in all your questions concerning game and veld management. We also offer lectures and courses on a variety of topics, e.g. dart immobilization, how to perform a post mortem etc. Let us know if you have a particular topic in mind, and we will see what we can do for you. For more information please visit our website: www.wildlifevetsnamibia.com. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.